Hawks-Pacers Preview

By MICHAEL MAROTPosted Apr 21 2014 5:59PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Indiana's next game is the most important of the season.

If the top-seeded Pacers can't protect their home court Tuesday night, they'll be down 2-0 heading to Atlanta - where they have only won twice since December 2006.

The Pacers have been in a late-season swoon, with a perception that they're soft. Since March 1, the Pacers are 12-14 and the league's stingiest defense has been nothing short of ordinary, numbers that have increased the speculation about everything from psychological problems and team chemistry to what players are doing outside basketball.

There have been questions about Roy Hibbert's mentality, George Hill's defense and how to stay out of foul trouble. At one point in late March, Hibbert called some of his teammates "selfish dudes," a comment he later apologized for. After Saturday's game, the questions were more about how to avoid foul trouble and defend Atlanta's spread offense following the Hawks' 101-93 victory.

Critics found a new complaint Monday - Paul George's fishing trip on Sunday even though George is almost always one of the last players off the court and had asked coach Frank Vogel if he could defend the suddenly explosive Jeff Teague.

But the Pacers insist the complaints aren't a major topic of conversation in the locker room. Instead, they're focused on getting back to being themselves.

"It is motivation in that they expect us not to be at that level but that's it," George said. "Regardless, we've got to expect more out of ourselves."

Vogel is more concerned with making adjustments.

He acknowledged Monday that the 6-foot-9 George, one of the league's best wing defenders, will spend at least some of Tuesday's game guarding Teague, who has scored 53 points in the last two games against his hometown team. Vogel declined to say what other changes he has planned to deal with the Hawks' array of 3-point shooters.

Atlanta knows things won't be the same Tuesday after they became the first team to defeat Indiana on its home court twice this season. Backup forward Elton Brand indicated the Hawks have identified a few possible alterations, though he refused to give away any secrets.

"You try to prepare for adjustments but you really worry about your team and how to get better," he said.

For the moment, they have the upper hand in this first-round series and have a chance to become the first Atlanta team to open a playoff series with two straight road wins.

Teague said he won't a change a thing if George winds up on him.

And the Pacers? They are not long on words these days.

When Hibbert was asked if he liked the direction his team was headed, he responded "yeah." When he was then asked if he felt good about the planned adjustments, he responded "yeah, yeah."

Notes: One day after the TNT commentator Charles Barkley publicly blasted Indiana's toughness by calling the players "wussies," Indiana's coaches and players said the comments would not be the motivation to win Game 2 against Atlanta. "Chuck ain't never been behind this team from the get-go. Look, Larry Bird told us that, too, that we had been playing soft and all that," Paul George said, indicating the conversation with Bird took place last year. "It fires us up that we lost against a team we should have beaten and we've given up home-court advantage, not something Charles said."

Copyright 2014 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Pacers rally past Hawks 101-85 to even series

By MICHAEL MAROTPosted Apr 22 2014 11:31PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) When the Indiana Pacers needed a lift. Paul George stepped up. All over the court, over and over again.

George had 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and the Pacers used a big second-half run to rally for a 101-85 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.

George Hill scored each of his 15 points in the second half, helping top-seeded Indiana earn a split of the first two postseason games at home. George also had four steals and blocked a shot while helping keep Hawks point guard Jeff Teague in check.

"That's why he was in the MVP conversation early," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "He always does those types of things, guarding the best perimeter player, rebounding the ball, deflecting the ball. His hands were all over the place. It makes him one of the most complete players in the game when he plays like he did tonight.""

The Pacers sure needed it.

For seven weeks, Indiana heard everyone question its fortitude, team chemistry, even whether it was worthy of a No. 1 seed. The complaints grew louder after Saturday's 101-93 loss. George and his teammates spent the next 72 hours seeking solutions and defiantly insisting they would be OK.

On Tuesday, they finally reverted to their early season from.

Indiana limited the Hawks to 33 second-half points and dominated the third quarter. Next up is Game 3 on Thursday in Atlanta, where the Pacers have only two wins since December 2006 - though one of those closed out last year's first-round playoff series in six games.

"We want to build on what we've got going," Indiana forward David West said. "We want to continue to be aggressive. We know they're going to play better at home, but we're going down there to get back in charge of this series."

George was 9 for 16 from the field, including a 5-for-7 performance from 3-point range. He also went 4 for 4 at the line.

Perhaps more importantly, he managed to contain Teague after he burned Indiana for 28 points in Game 1. George wanted the responsibility of guarding Teague, who had seven points in the first quarter and seven more for the rest of the game.

"I sat down and it was homework for me, just locking into his tendencies and figuring out where I will get beat or where I'm vulnerable against him," George said. "It's a challenge."

George was the catalyst, but he had plenty of help.

Hill, who had been mired in an offensive funk, made 5 of 6 shots in the second half. Luis Scola, who kept the Pacers close when West got into early foul trouble, finished with 20 points and seven rebounds. The defense that gave up 11 3-pointers in Game 1 and eight more in the first half of Game 2, allowed just two over the final 24 minutes.

"Our execution on both ends of the court wasn't at the level we need it to be," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "Give them credit, they were aggressive, they made a lot of plays and our execution, particularly in the third quarter has to be better. That's what we'll work on."

Indiana appeared to be in trouble when it trailed 38-27 in the second quarter and was still down 52-48 at halftime. But the Pacers stormed into the lead with a 31-13 third quarter.

West sparked a 25-2 run with a bank shot that made it 70-65 with 3:20 left in the third. George made a buzzer-beating 3 to make it 79-65 heading into the fourth, and the Pacers scored the first eight points of the final period.

"If that's what it took for everyone to understand how close this team is, that's what it was," George said. "We've got each other's back and that's what it felt like."

NOTES: Atlanta was trying to open a playoff series with two straight road wins for the first time since the St. Louis Hawks swept Baltimore 3-0 in the 1966 Western Division semifinals. ... Defending Indianapolis 500 champion Tony Kanaan attended the game. ... Atlanta outscored Indiana 30-16 in the third quarter Saturday.

Copyright 2014 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Notebook: Pacers 101, Hawks 85

THE FACT: In between Kyle Korver's 3-pointer with 11:07 left in the third quarter and Dennis Schroeder's 3 with 4:21 remaining in the game, the Hawks missed 11 in a row from the arc and were outscored 46-18 by Indiana.

THE LEAD: Paul George scored 27 and Luis Scola 20 off the bench and Indiana's defense came to life in the second half to spark the Pacers to a 101-85 victory over Atlanta Tuesday in Bankers Life Fieldhouse to tie the best-of-seven first-round playoff series at 1-1.

The Pacers (56-26) used a 32-6 run bridging the second and third periods to blow it open, a burst that included 19 unanswered points -- 15 from George and George Hill, who scored all 15 of his points in the second half. Paul Millsap (38-44) led Atlanta with 19 points but Jeff Teague, who was dominant in the Hawks' 101-93 win in Game 1 with 28 points, was held to half that total.

QUOTABLE: "We put our print on this game in the third quarter, which we've done in November, December and January. We got back to that. I thought we did a great job of really just locking in, coming out in the second half, on what we need to do." -- Indiana's Paul George

THE STAT: Indiana has now won four Game 2s in a row after losing Game 1s. Atlanta has now lost four Game 2s in a row after winning Game 1s.

TURNING POINT: Atlanta led most of the first half and was up 59-55 early in the third when Hill turned up the offensive pressure against Teague with repeated drives to the hoop. The Hawks' point guard scored just one bucket in the second half. With Hill's energy surge lifting the team, George got rolling and the two combined for 15 points in the 19-0 run that turned a 68-65 lead to 87-65 with 9:44 remaining. The Hawks missed 11 shots in a row in a span of 6:31 during that Indiana burst.

QUOTABLE II: "I think there were some opportunities and shots that have been part of our system all year and we want our guys to shoot and be confident and it's a big part of the game. We make a few of those shots, maybe the third quarter feels a little bit differently." -- Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer

GOOD MOVE: Vogel made a few strategic tweaks that worked well for the Pacers, assigning George to defend Teague, tightening the rotation and using George as the primary guard off the bench at both positions, and letting reserves Scola and C.J. Watson play extended minutes with both performing well.

BAD MOVE: After a driving bucket late in the second quarter, Teague started a dialogue with George, who responded with a 3-pointer and a few words of his own. Teague would make one more basket the rest of the game, none in the final 10½ minutes.

HOT: George shot 9-for-16, adding 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals.

NOT: Roy Hibbert continued to struggle with his shot, going 1-for-7 in the game and bringing his slump to 8-for-44 in his last six.

NOTABLE: After scoring 52 points on 50 percent shooting in the first half, Atlanta managed 33 points on 29 percent shooting in the second. ... The Hawks hit nine of their first 17 attempts from the 3-point line, but missed 12 of their final 13. ... Atlanta had won nine in a row when making at least 10 3-pointers, but that streak came to an end. ... Watson scored 10 off the bench for Indiana, which got 38 points from its second unit. ... Lou Williams and Mike Scott scored 11 apiece off the Atlanta bench. ... Indiana shot 12-for-16 in rolling up 31 points in the third quarter and wound up at 53 percent for the game, including 8-for-17 from the 3-point line. ... The Hawks were second in the NBA during the regular season with 24.9 assists per game but have totaled 26 in the first two games of the series. ... George tied a postseason career-high with five 3-pointers.

UP NEXT: Game 3 is Thursday in Atlanta, Game 4 Saturday in Atlanta and Game 5 Monday in Indianapolis.